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Upstate S.C.

For the last couple of week's I have been practicing germinating seeds, and have gotten pretty fair at it. Here's my problem. Last week I prepaired 5 6 inch peat pots with seed staring mix and Myco. I moistened the media so that NO water driped I then poked holes all around the pots and pre-moistened them. Once the seeds germinated I placed them in the media 1 inch down. The 5 pots were placed on a tray toped with a plastic dome. The dome was then place on top of a mat. The mat keep the inside around 85%. Here is the problem 10 days later and NOT ONE SEED CAME UP. I dug the seeds up and all the tap roots were brittle and broke off. None were more than and inch or so long. What went wrong. Its as if the media was to dry or something, a since you guys harp on err on the side of dry I would only spray the top with water when it dried out. Could it be the peat pots, are they to big, should I use 3 or 4 inch. Any help would be greatly appreated..

3/10/2009 6:57:14 PM

San Jose garysand@pacbell.net

mix should be moist, not dry, squeeze till no more drips come out, then plant and cover with plastic. someone had a great recipe but i forget what it was, something like 2 cups water per gallon of mix?

3/11/2009 10:07:13 PM

bliss,n.y.- heart of Wyoming County

Hi
I like to warm up the soil in the 5inch peat pots before i plant the seeds or rooted seeds in them.
Kind of like warming up the outside mini-hoops before planting.

3/12/2009 11:13:08 AM

Windsor, Ontario, Canada

If you cover with plastic, you may have problems with mold growing...no airflow at all, moist, warm....

I use plastic pots, they don't wick the moisture out of the soil like peat does. Nobody plants the peat in the ground anyhow, so there's not point.

3/12/2009 7:32:01 PM

Windsor, Ontario, Canada

no point that is...

3/12/2009 7:32:10 PM

Upstate S.C.

Thanks guys, next question what is the average soak time and what are the different soak items folks use ie kelp, seaweed ect.

3/12/2009 8:09:28 PM

Santa Rosa, CA

Hello,

I sounds like your mix may have dried out.

On the peat pots, I use 4' and 5" size. I take 3 at a time and drill holes in the bottom and sides with a power drill. (Do this outside so you don't get the "rolled eyes" look from your wife!)

I then soak the peat pots indivisually in warm water. This keeps the peat pot from wicking the moisture out of the soil-less mix.

I use the mister setting on my hose to dampen the mix in a bucket. Damp, not wet is the key here. (P.S. I usually add some of Holland's Bio-Endo Plus in first).

Warming the soil in the damp peat pot is a good idea too.

When you plant the seed, I usually have about 1/2 of an inch from the top of the seed and the top of the mix. I think 1 inch may have been too deep.

On the soak time, I soak the filed seeds in water with some hydrogen peroxide for 12 hours before putting in the damp paper towels.

Good luck!

Chuck

3/13/2009 12:06:01 PM

Upstate S.C.

Thanks Chuck and everyone else, I place two seed's into seed starting mix today, both seed's had rooted. I'm pretty sure Chuck was right, my media had dried out. I have found out one thing, you can't water your media with a spray bottle, because the mist never makes it to the seed. I put a pinch of myco in the mix, I have them all in plastic pots well see, thanks again everyone.

3/13/2009 1:37:06 PM

Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Chuck, good idea about the soaking. If you are going to use peat pots, I am sure that is a factor that makes a big difference.

3/13/2009 1:44:49 PM

Denver, CO

Why not try just plain old putting the seeds in a pot with some semi moist soil and skipping all the pre gremenation stuff? There is almost no reason to risk injury to the seeds unless its an older seed that needs extra love. It may take an extra 24 hours for the seeds to pop up, but who cares? Give it a try, it works for hundreds of growers and is very low risk.

3/13/2009 4:19:33 PM

Denver, CO

Also,just from my experince, I switched to 10in plastic pots, cut in half and ductapped back together again a few years ago. I found that the peat pots were to hard to keep the moisture level correct as it wicked away moisture from the soil.

3/13/2009 4:44:30 PM

Upstate S.C.

Thanks Ghopson, I have already switch to plastic cup's they have been in the chamber for 1 full day now.. Will see.. Thanks again.

3/13/2009 9:20:36 PM

derry n.h u.s.a.

how hot did it get inside the bubble?might have over heated them,just a thought.

3/13/2009 9:29:11 PM

Santa Rosa, CA

I must give credit where credit is due. The idea about soaking the peat pots before adding the soil-less mix came from Joel Holland.

Before I started doing this, the dry ones would really suck the moisture out of the soil-less mix.

Chuck

3/14/2009 9:58:22 PM

Simi valley, ca

I have had better results by not letting soak too long ! I now will only soak approx 15- 30 minutes (no filling) & if you have rain water all the better ,add only a teaspoon seaweed to a gallon water do a 15-30 minute soak put in seed starter mix (if the seed starter mix is mostly Peat moss than add perlite & vermiculite ,1/3--1/3--1/3-- ) NO (none) fish emulsion ether ! wet the peat pot & wet the mix let water drain out- place 1 inch under mix--keep at 85* up to 90* , most seeds will pop a root within 36 hrs (but you wont see it) until it pops surface! Some seeds are more stubborn though & can take up to 10 days

4/13/2009 2:44:40 AM